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BCA Indonesia Open 2014 – Day 3: Jindapon Scalps Wang Yihan

Wang Yihan’s recent nightmarish streak continued as she crashed out of the second round of the BCA Indonesia Open 2014 today.

There were several upsets on the day, including that of Women’s Singles seventh seed Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei); recent Yonex Open Japan winners Ayaka Takahashi/Misaki Matsutomo (BWF home page) in Women’s Doubles and Men’s Doubles second seeds Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen (Denmark).

A week after she fell at the same stage in the Yonex Open Japan, Wang Yihan, the Women’s Singles world No.3 from China, was tripped by Thai youngster Nichaon Jindapon. After a first-game loss, Wang appeared to recover by forcing the decider, in which she stayed level until 8-all. But her recovery was short-lived as Jindapon enjoyed a spell of great form, picking nine of the next ten points, to leave Wang way behind. The Chinese attempted a recovery but could get as far as 13 before Jindapon close it out: 21-18 18-21 21-13.

However, it was just another day at the office for Wang’s compatriots Li Xuerui and Wang Shixian, both winning in straight games over Adrianti Firdasari (Indonesia) and Carolina Marin (Spain) respectively. Three-time champion Saina Nehwal had it relatively easy against Scot Kirsty Gilmour (21-17 21-9) and will face familiar foe Li in the quarter-finals.

The match of the day in Men’s Singles was Chen Long’s hard-fought victory over Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (above). The Thai stole a marathon first game (25-23) after being down 16-19 and saving four game points; Chen forced a decider and was well placed at 18-13. However, Saensomboonsuk picked off six straight points and then had match point at 20-19. Chen recovered in time to turn the tables: 23-25 21-16 22-20.

Home hero Simon Santoso, champion here in 2012, was desperately close to a quarter-final place but his hopes were nixed by Hu Yun. The Hong Kong player was behind Santoso in the closing stages of the third game, but he was able to save a match point before clinching victory: 21-18 13-21 22-20.

Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen’s bid for a first Indonesia Open title was derailed as they fell 21-18 21-19 to China’s Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan. The two top Men’s Doubles pairs at the moment, Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia) and Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong (Korea) stayed on course for another final with easy second-round victories over Denmark's Anders Skaarup Rasmussen/Kim Astrup Sorensen and China's Hong Wei/Chai Biao respectively. Lee Yong Dae admitted he liked playing in Indonesia: "We went into the match prepared to defend a lot because we know they are very attacking. Despite the noise, I like it here though it can be hard to concentrate. I felt a little nervous and I had to focus on the match."

His partner said: "Our opponents know Lee is very strong in attacking and defending so they targeted me but I was able to handle it and I’m happy we won. I'm enjoying playing with Lee again."

Their compatriots Kim Ki Jung/Kim Sa Rang also made it to the quarter-finals with a three-game win over Indonesia's Angga Pratama/Ryan Agung Saputra. Kim Sa Rang said: "We played well and though the crowd was backing our opponents it was no problem for us. It’s the same for us when we play at home. We get all the support. Our partnership is working well. We spend a lot of time together outside of badminton. He’s one of my closest friends so it’s good to be playing together again."

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Women’s Doubles saw the upset of fourth seeds Takahashi/Matsutomo. The Japanese, who lead the BWF Destination Dubai Rankings, were undone by the Jung Kyung Eun/Kim Ha Na of Korea, 17-21 21-19 21-11.